


Another Recovery

by Hongye



Series: What You Keep Alive [2]
Category: Afraid of Monsters & Cry of Fear
Genre: Angst, Attempted Murder, Gen, Hallucinations, Mental Health Issues, One-Shot, Past Drug Addiction, Physical Disability, Rehabilitation, past drug abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-07
Updated: 2019-02-07
Packaged: 2019-10-23 22:43:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17692508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hongye/pseuds/Hongye
Summary: David remembers. He does not forgive himself; Simon does not too.(Sequel to 'The second encounter'.)





	Another Recovery

A sigh is heard. Doctor Purnell, a bald man in charge of the young Simon Henriksson, watches as the nurses take him away to his room, along with a dark-haired girl persistently trailing after them. He then turns to David who is still rubbing his neck with a pained expression etched on his face. Purnell sighs again, bringing a hand to his face to soothe his furrowed expression; it accentuates his wrinkled lines, making him appear older than he actually is.

“I’m sorry about that, Mr. Leatherhoff. I have been working with him for more than two years now. He’s very well-known for his volatile behavior but to be frank with you, this is the first time he has shown such hostility to anyone; with a murderous intent if I may add.”

David frowns, his eyes cast downwards. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset him that bad. But I can’t really blame him. I deserved it.” He puts his hands inside his hoodie pocket, not wanting to let the doctor see that his hands are shaking like crazy but he is sure that the doctor notices it anyway. “I mean, I’m at fault here. He’s like this because of me. I did this to him. I…” He brings a hand to his trembling mouth. He continues, “Oh god, I-I nearly killed him– a  _ kid _ ! I nearly killed a kid! And, and I just left him  _ there _ . God, I’m-I’m horrible, who would do  _ that _ ? How could  _ I _ do that?” At this point, he becomes overwhelmed and he does not realize he is shedding tears until the doctor holds out a handkerchief to him. David sniffs and murmurs a ‘thanks’, slightly flustered.

Doctor Purnell places a hand on his shoulder, his voice reassuring yet it does not make him feel any better. He looks at David kindly as he speaks, “Mr. Leatherhoff, I know you have good intentions. I’m honestly glad you came here to seek his forgiveness but you two are not ready to face each other yet. He has just recently come to terms with his condition, you see.”

David nods thoughtlessly though he agrees with the doctor. He had also just come out of rehab after a year but of course; there is a whole lot of work to be done before he can truly function properly, even when he has been sober for a while now. But  _ god _ , he cannot get the image of Simon’s face when he was choking him. He knows he deserved it, yet he was so goddamn frightened- he still is. “Yeah, you-you’re right, Doctor. I’m sorry, er your—“

The doctor shakes his head, pushing David’s hand from him as he smiles. “It’s alright, young man. You can keep it. You’ve been through a lot today so I suggest you go back to your room. You do have a group therapy session with Ms. Rogers early tomorrow, yes?”

David merely nods, he cannot speak– his throat feels constricted as if Simon’s hands are around it again. The good doctor then places a hand on his back, guiding him to the nearest examination room, having noticed David’s sudden quietness.

They are at the nurses’ station apparently. David does not pay any mind because he is too busy clawing his throat out. He can feel the rough itchy texture of a rope tightening around his neck as he scratches at the angry red lines which have been starting to form. Damn, it feels  _ so _ painful and good at the same time. He feels as if he is back to eating those goddamn pills too.

Everything around David blurs as white figures surround him like a veil shielding him from the scorching lights. He does not fight back when he feels hands touching his nape gently. There are shuffling sounds but he is too out of it to comprehend what is happening around him.

“Hey… Hey…” Suddenly he hears a clicking sound.  _ Is someone talking to him? _ He can’t be sure. “Mr. Leatherhoff? Are… tired… okay…?” He blinks, finally recognizing the voice.

“Miss Stacy?”

“About time you come back to us. Here, sit up would you?”

It belongs to the nurse taking care of him, who is two heads shorter than he is but David is pretty convinced she can punch the daylights out of him if he does not treat her with respect she very much be worthy of. Her red hair is tied into a bun today; with her bangs hanging on both sides of her face. 

She raises an eyebrow at him, “Well you caused quite a stir yesterday. Ugly hickey you got there too.”

David immediately touches his neck, feeling as if it is swollen and has gotten worse than it had before. He groans, “What– yesterday? Shit, I’ve been out for a day?” He rubs his eyes to get rid of his tiredness. 

Nurse Stacy hums as she places the food in front of him. “Sure did. Doc said you had an episode again– probably from the kid who got you good by the way,” David sends a pout to her way, making her roll her eyes in response. 

“Oh, and since you missed morning session with Ms. Rogers, you’re going to have Purnell’s instead later at 3pm. You know where his office at, yeah?” says Stacy.

He murmurs a ‘Yeah thanks’, shoving a spoon-full of porridge to his mouth. He is starving and, and bless Stacy for all his heart, she leaves him in his room without another word. 

After he finishes with his breakfast, he heads out to hit the showers.

He removes the bandages while daring to look at the mirror. David grimaces at the sight of handprints on his throat, flinching slightly when he tilts his head to the side. The prints from the day before are now purple and it looks  _ nasty _ .  

Cocking his head sideways again, David shudders as he makes out fingers stretched out to the side of his neck. The image of hands around it resurfaces on his mind again. Oh god, in his sick twisted mind David imagines Simon’s hands to be some sort of a noose, wrapping so tight around his throat his eyes would pop out from their sockets. He almost wishes he died there, just so he would not have to see Simon a second time because he is definitely sure they are bound to meet again. David quickly leaves the shower area.

Time is relatively slow, as he puts on his favourite ‘EA45’ hoodie he goes out for Doctor Purnell’s session at Room 13.

As the door comes into sight, he sees the boy—err, the  _ man _ (Henriksson should be 21 by now) staring out at the window, seemingly lost in thought as his hands folded on top of a book’s cover in his lap. David notices the slight stubble forming on his face that is absent from their first encounter, followed by the heavy bags under his inky eyes. He feels a pang of sympathy for he too has not been sleeping at all lately, full of endless guilt at the thought of  _ murder  _ by his hands. 

David sweats as he fidgets the hem of his hoodie. He does not want to take another step forward for he is sure the man will detect him. Not that he minds the hostility he is sure he deserves but he does not want to make him any more troubled, especially if David were to interrupt the peaceful moment with himself.

The clock hanging above the door is mocking him as it ticks minutes away. It is already 3:23 p.m. by the time he realizes he has been staring dumbfounded at a man on a wheelchair this whole time like a complete fool, which it is actually fucking rude of him. He picks at the skin of his thumb because  _ fuck _ he has no idea what to do.

Thankfully, the door opens to reveal Doctor Purnell appearing quite worried. He momentarily glances between David and Henriksson, then he quietly motions for David to enter. 

David happily obliges, forcing his legs to move forward. He brushes off the feeling of being watched as he closes the door behind him.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> [Last edited: 25062017]
> 
> Update [07/02/2019]: Cleaned up a bit; nothing else was added. Hope you enjoy reading another one of my works.


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